Memories through the Mindscape
by allietheepic7
Summary: The day everything changed was the day Bill Cipher found a glowing ball of ectoplasm on the edge of the Nightmare Realm. BillXFem!Danny Warning: Cursing, illogical ghosts, Bill Should Not Be A Disney Character. Update in process.
1. Chapter 1

**Memories through the Mindscape**

 **Bill/Fem! Danny**

 **By Allietheepic7**

The day everything changed was the day Bill Cipher found a glowing ball of ectoplasm on the edge of the Nightmare Realm.

How weird. Bill floated around the bright green sphere that contrasted harshly with the blacks, and reds, and the burning-flesh-colors of the background. Ghost—and ectoplasm—couldn't survive for long in the Nightmare Realm, just as demons couldn't survive in the Ghost Zone (what a stupid name!). Ectoplasm burned demons and disrupted their ablities while demonic powers dissolved ghosts. So Bill had no idea how this thing had gotten here.

He placed a hand on the ball and it pulsed like a flesh bag's heartbeat. Bill giggled as the limb began to sizzle from the ectoplasm and removed it, trying to peer inside. There was something humanoid in it, still alive if the pulsing meant anything. As he watched, a small piece of the sphere broke off and dissolved.

It was probably some ghost who did something inexcusable in the eye of the Observants (get it? Because they only have one—never mind.). They did that sometimes as a form of execution—place a ghost in a few years supply of ectoplasm and toss them in the Nightmare Realm to rot—though as far as Bill's extensive knowledge knew, they had stopped doing that in the early 900s, by human years. Oh, well. Not like it mattered, really.

As Bill turned to leave, he felt a presence. It wasn't demonic—he was Bill Cipher after all, no demon could seek up on him. And demons couldn't sense ghosts so it couldn't be Glow Bug over there. It almost felt like…

…a sleeping human.

The corners of Bill's eye turned up in the triangle's version of a smirk. There was no way even he could feel a sleeping human, deep in their Mindscape, from here unless… He turned back to the ectoplasmic sphere. It was a good bit bigger than him in his normal form. Just big enough to fit a human curled up into a ball.

How fantastic! He tittered to himself as he circled the ball again. While humans could survive in the Zone for a while, they couldn't exactly—what's the word? Oh, yes—breathe pure ectoplasm. Perhaps it's some sort of dream ghost? No, he still wouldn't be able to sense it then.

Curious, Bill faded into the not-ghost's Mindscape.

Its Mindscape was weirdly…normal. Bill wasn't sure what to expect—maybe some bloody lair with human meat hanging off hooks. Or even the Ghost Zone, all empty space and doors. Not some human dwelling with what looked like an alien space ship perched dangerously on the top. If it ever fell off, it could kill some people.

Not such a bad design detail after all then.

Bill phased through the front door. The house was eerily quiet, not that Bill minded, and the grey monotone of the 'scape did nothing to abate the creepiness. Bill shivered with joy.

He floated into what humans call the "living room" and found the occupant of the ecto-bubble. She _looked_ human enough (at least Bill thought it was female. That one incident with Pyronica stuck out in his mind), with all her limbs and non-scaly, pale skin, and a full head of black and white hair that trailed down to her waist. But she was surrounded by a pure white aura. Plus, she was sitting about a foot in the air off the human butt rester.

"Hey there, Glow Bug!" Her head snapped around so fast, it cracked. Bill cackled, deleted. Oh, her weirdly colored eyes—one light blue, the other ecto-green—were filled with shock and fear, though those emotions quickly faded into wariness. He floated up so they could be eye to eyes.

"Oh, a demon." She was trying hard to sound indifferent, Bill could tell. But she couldn't hide the caution in her voice…or the curiosity. Bill would have smirked if he had a mouth. "Interesting. Your kind have been trying to get into my capsule for years, but you're the first to come here."

"That's because I'm no normal demon, sweetheart! The name's Bill Cipher, dream demon!" He held out his hand in an invitation to shake it.

She eyed the offered limb but kept her arms wrapped around her legs. "Phantom. Danny Fenton-Phantom, halfa."

Bill appraised her, slightly impressed though he'd never admit it. While halfas were _technically_ possible for both ghosts and demons, they were near impossible to make. No immortal actually wanted to make one with a human since it was going to die almost immediately, and even if they did, it was extremely unlikely to happen. So Glow Bug was probably created scientifically.

He looked around the room. It was the normal meat sack design—seriously, did they have no creativity?—but sometimes the walls would turn green and swirly. On the entertainment box screen, two human children were laughing silently along with a younger version of Glow Bug with less unusual features. Bill flew close the glass and tapped it. "Aw, you were pretty cute back then…you know, for a bag of flesh, blood, and squishy internal organs."

"Well, that's one way to put it," she said drily. Calmly, Danny flipped upside down and sat on the ceiling. "Do you have a reason for invading my Mindscape?"

"Nope!" Bill cheerfully popped the 'p' at the end of the word. "I just got curious about what a ghost could do to get banished into this hellhole to gradually dissolve to death! It takes a lot to piss off the eyestalks enough to warrant a slow execution!"

"Ah…do they do this often?"

"Not as often as they used too, the stupid one-eyed pencil pushers. I'd love to replace all their cores with processed meat! Ha!"

Danny looked vaguely ill. "That's disgusting."

Bill shrugged. He hated people who though they had authority over him. Especially Time Baby. Fuck that kid! "So what'd ya do? You had to do _something_. No matter how moronic they are, the Observers don't execute someone without a reason."

Sighing, she laid back on the ceiling. "I was supposed to destroy the world. I'm not sure how they figured a 14 year old would do that, but I didn't exactly get a chance to ask before they threw my ass on trial and into this horrible place—no offence."

Bill's eye widened. Fourteen was young, even for humans. What were those annoying green beans thinking!? "None taken. Hell's hell, even for demons. Why else would we always be trying to get out of here?"

"You have a point."

"No, I have three. Ha! Triangle humor!" She laughed and Bill was feeling fairly proud of himself when he felt that Gideon kid summoning him. An irrational annoyance swelled and was swiftly crushed. "I got to get going, Glow Bug, but I'll be back~! Remember, reality's an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, byyyyyyeeeeeeee!"

 **D/_\P**

Bill wasn't angry anymore when he went to visit Danny after he "surrendered" to Pine Tree and Shooting Star. Sure, it was a bit degrading that a couple of human children made him **_fall through on a deal_** , but holding grudges was for lesser demons. And he'd totally get revenge on them later, so whatever.

"I'm back~!" Bill practically sang as he materialized on Danny's head. He jumped down to her shoulder and prodded her cheek. "How's my favorite halfa? Did ya miss me? Admit it, you missed me."

"Like a brain misses a tumor," she said in a monotone, but Bill noticed the hint of a smile.

"Glow Bug, you flatterer! Oh, I think I'm blushing!" he pretended to swoon and earned a small snicker. "So, how's it hanging?" A small snap later and Danny was sporting a wonderful new necklace.

Danny phased the noose off. "I'm just…reminiscing." She glanced at the television, which was paused on a red-headed girl. "It's all I really do anymore."

"Well, that sounds boring. Meanwhile, I invaded a senior citizen's mind and beat up a couple of kids!"

Her head snapped around and she stared incredulously. "What!?"

"Oh relax! We were in the old man's Mindscape, they weren't hurt…a lot. Physically. Mentally is debatable, but who needs sanity? Besides, they managed to "defeat" me. I let them win, of course."

She snorted. "Of course you did, you crazy megalomaniac. Why were you invading some guy's head?"

"It was a job. This fake physic with a horrible accent made a deal with me. If I got the code to Fez's safe, Gideon would help me with a project I have. But since Pine Tree, Shooting Star, and Question Mark stopped me, I'm going to have to think of something else."

"I'm just going to assume you give everyone vague and annoying nicknames."

Bill tried to pout, but as usual forgot he had no mouth. "They're not nicknames," he whined. "They're soul names. Humans rarely name their spawn accurately, but the names I give people reflect who they are." As Bill spoke, he floated towards the TV. "Hey, change this to when you were banished. I wanna see!"

"No. I only keep my good memories in the TV. If you want to see the bad ones, you have to look for them."

"Yay! Treasure hunt!" Bill flew to the middle of the room and looked around. "If I was a traumatizing memory, where would I hide…?"

There was a random box in the corner and Bill decided that was a good enough place to start. He opened it and—

"I am the Box Ghost!"

SLAM! "What was that!?" he asked.

"Did I forget to mention that I created copies of every ghost I've ever met to guard my memories? The stronger they are, they worse the memory."

 **D/_\P**

"Viva la revolution!"

 _"AHH! GHOST WEINERS!"_

 **D/_\P**

"Don't you have any demons friends to bother?" Glow Bug asked, reading a book this time. This was new; in all his visits, she was always watching her memories. Now she was reading about…the solar system?

"Nope. Demons don't really have friends. Allies and enemies, sure, but friends are for the weak." Bill perched on her head, his favorite place. "Besides, I'm much too busy with my plans to visit with others of my kind."

"Yet there is always time to laze about with me."

"Of course! You're my favorite halfa!" Leaning down, Bill pointed to one of the star systems in the book. "They got that one wrong. There are actually 13 planets circling that sun, not 9."

She traced the star with a finger. "Really?"

"Yep! Geeze, you humans are horrible astronomers! There are so many inaccuracies!"

"…Tell me more?"

 **D/_\P**

"Hey, Glow Bug! You'll never guess what I did to Pine Tree today!"

"I'm sure it's very horrifying and upsetting."

"Well now I don't even want to tell you."

A sigh. "…What did you do to Pine Tree today, Bill?"

"I possessed his body and nearly killed his twin!"

" ** _What_**."

 **D/_\P**

He'd finally found it, the reason why his Glow Bug was trapped in the Nightmare Realm. Bill flew over the bubbling corpse of the blue vampire and into the memory. Who would have thought it was hidden in the wrapper of a fast food place?

Bill watched as an Observant called the court into order. How stupid. If this had been the Nightmare Realm, the defendant would have been ripped to shreds by now.

A younger Glow Bug with pure white hair and both eyes green was dragged forward by two generic ghosts. She was…crying, Bill realized in a shocked daze. And she was scared. It was weird and unsettling, since he had only ever seen Danny passive or pissed. Never…terrified.

He didn't like it.

Danny flinched away from the glaring eyestalks. "W-who are you!? Why did you kidnap me!?" she shouted, trying to force her fear back with bravo. It didn't work.

"Danielle Sage Fenton-Phantom!" boomed one of the Observants, obviously the leader. "We are the Observants, the ones who make sure history continues as it should, and you have been arrested for crimes against the Ghost Zone!"

"But I haven't done anything!"

"Not yet," it said ominously. "Do you or do you not plan to cheat on the CAT standardize test?" A picture of a human version of Glow Bug appeared above the main eyestalk's eye. She was flipping through a stack of papers suspiciously.

"Well, yes, but—"

"So she admits it!" one of the Observants cried out. "She admits to the act that will cause the end of the human realm and, worse, the destruction of the Ghost Zone!"

"How does cheating on one test do _that_ ** _!?_** " Danny screamed as the Observants began shouting insults at her.

"SILENCE!" the head Observant roared. "Phantom, while these events haven't come to pass, we cannot discriminate from the present and the future. The immediate future is the one you destroy and we must protect the Zone. Your punishment is banishment to the Nightmare Realm, where you will spend the next 3 years alone and in pain before your inevitable death." All the Observants raised their hands in unison and they glowed green.

Danny's lip trembled and Bill found himself enthralled by the action. "B-But…I'm innocent…"

"For what you were doing to do, you cannot be considered innocent."

And the room exploded in light.

 **D/_\P**

Bill was seething. Demons of all kinds and strengths stayed far away from the furious dream demon. No one wanted to mess with him. He towered over everything, bright red and distorting the energy around him, but always kept Glow Bug's bubble directly below him.

They had dared! They had locked away _his_ Glow Bug, condemned her to die here for such a stupid, made-up reason! She was going to cause the world to end!? BAH! Bill threatened the universe's existence on a daily basis yet those idiotic fucks had never dared to bother him!

And they won't. Not after he rips their cores from their chests and eats them.

Bill wasn't going to drag the Nightmare Realm into the human one just for the apocalypse anymore. He was going to save Glow Bug too. And once she was all healed up, they could go massacre the Observants together!

Gradually losing his red pallor, Bill shrank back to his normal size and his eye glinted evilly. It was a date then!

 **D/_\P**

"You haven't visited for a while," Danny said when Bill was able to return without destroying her entire Mindscape. She looked sad and Bill hated it. She wasn't dying. He wouldn't let her. "I take it you saw."

"Yes."

"Are you going to leave?" She sounded scared. She didn't want him to leave. Bill glowed with warmth and sat on her head.

"Never. Hey, you'll never guess who popped up from an inter-dimensional portal right in front of Pine Tree!"

Her eyes sparkled and she smiled. "Who?"

"Sixer!"

"That guy with 12 fingers you tricked 30 years ago?"

"You remembered! Anyway, Pine Tree was totally shocked. It was hilarious! He had no clue that Fez was rebuilding the portal. In fact, he didn't know there was a portal at all!"

"You're kidding! You'd think Fez would at least try to tell him and Shooting Star."

"I know, right? Anyway…"

 **D/_\P**

"I think I wanna visit Sixer."

A page turned. "That's nice, Bill."

"In his dreams."

"Mmm-hmm."

"And threaten his family."

"Bill, no."

"Bill, yes!"

 **D/_\P**

With a snap of his fingers, Shooting Star fell unconscious. Bill left the time traveller's body, cackling as he went. It was here! Finally the time was here! " _ **AT LAST! AT LONG, LONG LAST! The gateway between worlds has opened! The event one billion years prophesized has finally come to pass! The day has come! The world is finally mine!"**_ A maniacal laugh bubbled up from his throat as the rift tore through reality, into the Nightmare Realm. Finally, they were free!

" _ **Welcome to Weirdmageddon!**_ "

 **D/_\P**

Deep in her Mindscape, Danny sighed and curled up tighter in the air. Bill…he hadn't visited in a long time. Was he ok? She blinked away a tear. "He said he'd be back," she mumbled, the silence of the Mindscape overwhelming. "He promised. He's going to come back."

 **End of Part 1**


	2. Chapter 2

**Memories through the Mindscape**

 **Part 2**

"Bill!"

The mentioned triangle, sitting on his throne of the damned, looked up to see Pyronica fly into the Fearamid. A large, deformed grin was cut across the Henchmaniac's face like a bloody wound. "I found it!"

Clutched in her burning hand was a bubble.

An ectoplasmic bubble.

Bill's cackle was heard all across Gravity Falls.

 **D/_\P**

On occasion there would be little moments where Danny rose to consciousness. They weren't often and she couldn't control them, but even if she could, nothing ever happened. She could see nothing and heard nothing but the tortured screams of the Nightmare realm.

But this time was different. There was still green, but…

She heard singing.

 **D/_\P**

Bill rose from the floor, piano keys giving way under his fingers. " _We'll meet again~ Don't know where, don't know when~ Oh, I know we'll meet again some sunny day~!"_

Ford looked around the penthouse, taking in the room and the green bubble situated in the corner. Around it was a collar of blue flames that looped around Bill's wrist. "Wh-Where am I?" Ford asked. His head was aching, right under the metal plate in his head.

Bill laughed. "You're in the penthouse suite, kid! The tip of the pyramid. Have a drink." He snapped his fingers and martini glasses appeared in their hands. "Make yourself comfortable." Ford sat down on the couch behind him as Cipher sipped from his drink. "You know that couch is made from living human skin?"

The couch groaned as eyes, a nose, and a mouth appeared. Ford jumped up, a cry on his lips. Anger curdled in his gut as he clenched his fists. "Quit the games, Cipher! If I'm still alive, you must want something from me."

"Ah, sharp as ever, Fordsy. As you may have noticed…I've recently had a _**MULTI-DIMENSIONAL MAKEOVER!**_ " His voice echoed and everything in the room flouted, including Ford. "I control space, matter, and now that that dumb baby's out of the way, time itself! But I wasn't always this way."

Everything fell to the floor. Ford landed on his front with a heavy thud.

"You think your chains are tight?" Bill continued. "Imagine living in the second dimension, flat minds in a flat world with flat dreams. I liberated my dimension, Stanford, and I'm here to liberate yours." He tugged on the fire-leash, causing the sphere to bob and sizzle. "And once I'm done here, I'll…well. I wouldn't call it liberate. More like destroy the Ghost dimension, isn't that right, Glow Bug?" Bill left a silence, as if something—or someone—was supposed to answer. "There's just one hitch. As it turns out, my weirdness can't escape the magical confines of this town. There's something keeping me in."

"Incredible!" Ford whispered, awe coloring his tone. "Gravity Falls natural law of weirdness magnetism. I studied this years ago."

"And did you find a way to undo it?"

"Of course. There's a simple equation that could collapse the barrier. But I'd never tell you!"

"Listen, Ford, if you just tell me that equation, finally your dimension will be free." Bill eye-projected him drawing a smiley face in the Midwest United States, then taking a bite out of the Earth. He flew past his friends, who were destroying other planets, then to Ford, who was standing in the center of a galaxy. The real Ford couldn't look away. "Anything will be possible. I'll remake a fun world—a better world! A party that never ends with a host that never dies! No more restrictions! No more laws! You'd be one of us. All-powerful. Greater than anything you've imagined! And all I need is your help!"

"You're insane if you think I'll help you!"

The triangle cackled, wiping away a pretend tear. "I'm insane either way, brainic! But have it your way. I'll just fish around and get that equation directly out of your mind!" With that, Bill left his physical body behind and entered the Mindscape.

"Not so fast!" Ford yelled, a smirk on his lips. "You know the rules, Bill. You may be able to haunt my dreams, but you can't enter my mind unless I shake your hand and let you in."

Bill reentered the physical realm and sighed. With another snap, Ford's legs and neck were chained and he was lifted into the air, clutching his neck. Ford glared; no matter what Bill did to him, he'd never say yes. Never.

"You're making this so much harder than it needs to be. Everyone has a weakness, tough guy! I'll make you talk! It's only a matter of time."

And then 500 volts of electricity coursed through Ford's body.

 **D/_\P**

Oh, it looks like the screams were back…

 **D/_\P**

Bill watched gleefully as Ford screamed. His Henchmaniacs were gathered around, laughing at the amusing sight. The Great Stanford Pines, brought so low. The only thing that would make it better was if Glow Bug was awake to party with them. Though Bill doubted she would approve of torturing Sixer… Eh, what she didn't know _probably_ wouldn't cause the sudden implosion of multiple dimensions.

Besides, it was Ford's fault she was still asleep. If he just told him the equation, then Bill could get Danny away from the Rift and the majority of the Nightmare Energy so the bubble would pop.

He let up the electricity, much to his minions' disappointment. "Ready to talk now?"

It took Ford a few seconds to recover before he gasped, "I won't. I won't let you into my mind."

"What do you think, pals? Another 500 volts?" There was a low thudding sound, steadily growing louder. "Hey, do you hear that?"

 _ **BOOM!**_

A t-rex head crashed through the Fearamid's front door and roared. "What!?" Bill raged. "I just fixed that door!" The head pulled back, revealing that it was attached to a robotic arm and _that_ was attached to…

Oh, Shooting Star and Pine Tree…they've gone too far this time.

Bill glared at the Mystery Shack robot. Question Mark was standing on a platform, holding a flag topped with…was that a human head? Were they trying to intimidate him?

Cute.

"It's the Shacktron, dude!"

"So the mortals are trying to fight back, huh?" Bill's eye narrowed. "Adorable! Henchmaniacs, you know what to do! Take them out!"

Relaxing back in his throne, Bill watched his minions grow in size and jump out of the Fearamid to face off against the "Shacktron." This was sure to be amusing—Wait. What were they—What!? How!?

Growing more and more furious as the fight continued, Bill could only stare as his Henchmaniacs— _demons_ , for hell's sake!—were defeated by a bunch of _**backwater hicks!**_ Hell, they even managed to set Teeth on fire! "Guys, seriously!? You had, like, one job to do here."

"Bravo, Dipper and Mabel!"

His eye narrowing, Bill whirled around to study Ford. "Well, would you look at that. Those kids really care about you. And you care about them… _ **DON'T YOU?**_ "

"What are you…" Ford realized what Bill was talking about and horror crossed his face. "Oh. Oh no."

"Perhaps torturing those kids'll make you talk."

"No. No!" Ford screamed, pulling at his chains in an attempt to get free. It was the biggest reaction Bill'd seen since he started torturing Sixer. Bingo. "Not the kids! You ca—"

Bill snapped his fingers, turning Ford back to gold midsentence. He cracked his knuckles. "Let's get this over with."

 **D/_\P**

There was shouting now, with definite voices. They weren't in pain, or so Danny thought. It was odd. They almost sounded…

"Great Uncle Ford? What is this?"

Human.

"Dipper! Don't touch that!" Another voice—older—called out.

People. There were people out there! Danny had never been so happy before in her life. Was she out of the Nightmare Realm? Had…had Bill gotten her out? She tried to break the bubble, but the ectoplasm only gave a little bit. Damn it! "Ahh! It moved!" the first voice shouted. "There's something inside it! What is it?"

From the sound of their voices, they had to be standing very close to her. "I don't know," said the older voice. "Bill called it Glow Bug. It appears to be made of ectoplasm, but that should be impossible! Look at the way that portion is dissolving! Amazing!"

"So…ectoplasm dissolves?"

"In the presence of demonic energies, yes. And demons are burned by it. I've even heard rumors about it cancelling out their magic! If it were just ectoplasm then we could probably use it to defeat Bill, but since you saw it move…it's likely there's a ghost inside."

"A ghost? Do you think it would help us fight Bill?"

Fight Bill? They were fighting _Bill_?

What the hell had he done this time!?

He better not be using that Pine Tree kid as a puppet again.

The two voices faded away, leaving Danny desperate to break free. She pushed and pushed but the bubble held, emotionally exhausting her. Would she ever be free? She wanted to be free! She was so, so close…

Oh, God, the screams were starting again. But there were shouts too, and crying, and a loud, familiar laughter. Danny swallowed her dread. It was probably nothing. Bill laughed at weird things, after all. There was no evidence that he was—

"Not so fast! You two wait here! I've got some children I need to make into corpses!"

What.

Wait, _**WHAT!?**_

 _ **End of Part 2**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Memories Through the Mindscape Part 3**

Shaking his head, Stanley sunk to the ground. "Oh, I can't believe this. The kids are gonna die and it's all my fault! Because I couldn't shake your stupid hand! Uh, Dad was right about me. I am a screw-up."

Sitting down next to him, Ford wrapped an arm around his brother. "Ah, don't blame yourself. I'm the one who made a deal with Bill in the first place. I fell for all his easy flattery. You would have seen him for the scam artist he is." He took out a flask and drank before giving it to Stan.

"How did things get so messed up between us?" Stan asked in between gulps.

"We used to be like Dipper and Mabel. The world's about to end and they still work together. How do they do it?" Ford wondered.

"Easy. They're kids. They don't know any better." Ford stood, barely sparing a glance to the ecto-bubble Bill had left in the throne room. He knew what he had to do. To save the kids. To save his brother. "Whoa, where you goin'?"

"I'm going to play the only card we have left. Let Bill into my mind. He'll be able to take over the galaxy and maybe even worse, but at least he might let the kids free."

"What?! Are you kiddin' me!?" Stan rushed to his feet, shouting. "Are you honestly telling me there's nothing else we can do!?"

Ford shook his head. "Bill's only weak in the Mindscape. With a physical form…it would take a being of tremendous power to stop him now. Either that or a massive amount of…ectoplasm…" The sphere! When Dipper found it, it moved, indicating that it contained a ghost.

But it was a ghost Bill seemed to know. Who's to say that it wouldn't just help the demon destroy them?

He couldn't think like that. He had to trust that the natural hatred between ghosts and demons would win.

"Stanley! Do you have anything on you that can shoot an ionized beam?"

"A what-now?"

Ford slapped his forehead. "A ray gun, Stanley! Do you have a ray gun?"

"Why would I have a ray gun?" Stan asked, hands on his hips. "Isn't that something you'd usually bring, Poindexter?"

Ford's eyes widened. "Of course!" Pulling out the memory gun, he started to dismantle it, removing a few screws and adjusting some of the wires. "The memory gun works by shooting a weak ionized beam into the brain, scrambling the hippocampus and removing whatever memory is specified. If I can adjust the strength of the beam and disconnect it from the part that destroys the memory, then it will be strong enough to pop the bubble!"

The gun back together, Ford aimed it at the ectoplasm. The strength of the blast would break the bulb. This was his only chance.

He pulled the trigger.

 _ **BOOM!**_

 **D/_\P**

Bill stomped back into the throne room, the Pines kids struggling in his grip like they could actually get free. "Alright, Ford. Time's up. I've got the kids. I think I'm gonna kill one of 'em now just for the heck of it! _**EENIE**_ " His eye flashed Pine Tree's symbol on the zodiac. " _ **MEENIE,**_ " Shooting Star. " _ **MINEE,**_ " Pine Tree. And then… " _ **YO—**_ "

"You."

A green blast of light came out of nowhere and zapped Bill in the eye. " _ **SERIOUSLY**_!?" he screamed, dropping the Pines. Hot pain raced through him, but Bill stayed aware enough this time to listen to Pine Tree and Shooting Star's screams of absolute terror. And then… wait. Why didn't they hit the ground? Their frail, mortal bodies should have perished with a delightful crunch, or at least a splat, when they hit the ground, so why…?

Rubbing his eye clear of the _burning_ goo, Bill could see the twins running towards Fez and Sixer, who had escaped at half dissolved cage. He could see the rest of the zodiac fall free from their banners, ectoplasm eating away at the walls. But that wasn't what held Bill's attention.

No, that belonged to the young woman floating in the center of the throne room. The one with snowy white hair and glowing green eyes.

 **D/_\P**

Bill loomed over Glow Bug, his firey red form 10 times her height. She was tiny compared to him, like the bug she was named after, ready to be squished. Fury burned through Bill as he glared down at his defiant, little bug. " _ **WHAT**_ do you think you're doing, _Glow Bug_?"

"I'm not going to let you hurt these people, Bill," she said. "You're not going to destroy my world."

" _ **What**_?" he seethed, leaning over her. She stared back, unconcerned. "Your world? YOUR WORLD!? _**THIS WORLD HATES YOU! IT WOULD BE BETTER OFF DESTROYED! YOU SHOULD BE THANKING ME!"**_

"I should thank you for the murder of over 7 billion people!?" she spat, eyes glowing bright. "Seven billion innocent people! _Why_ would I _ever_ thank you for that!?"

" _ **I FREED YOU!**_ " Bill roared. He slammed his fist down on her, only for it to bounce off an ectoplasmic shield. Pain once again burned up his arm and Bill threw himself at her, pummeling her shield with a dozen fists, the increasing stings of pain just fueling his rage. " _ **You owe your existence TO ME! If it wasn't for me, you'd still be dying in the Nightmare Realm, and THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!? BY CHOOSING THE OTHER SIDE!?**_ " Glow bug's shield finally gave out and she screamed as he smashed her into the ground.

Bill froze under her glare, staring at the puddle of bloody ectoplasm she coughed up. Ghosts didn't bleed. Not normally. Not unless… unless… "I would _love_ to choose your side, Bill. But I wouldn't let my dimension burn." He jerked back, the red fading from his form as ecto-energy flared from her fists. "And if I have to fight you for it, then I wi—"

She collapsed, more blood-laced ectoplasm flowing from her mouth as she fell to her knees. Fear filled her eyes as she started coughing her lungs out.

"No, no, no, _**no, no, no, NO!"**_ Panic consumed Bill. She was dying; there was too much demon magic in the air, trapped inside the confines of this _**infernal town**_ as more and more poured in. And she still breathed, despite not needing to in that form. She still breathed, inhaling the essence of the Nightmare Realm and shredding her lungs. She still breathed and blood escaped with each exhale.

Shrinking significantly in size, Bill flew down to her crumpled form, rolling her onto her side so she wouldn't chock. He… he couldn't stop this. He couldn't close the Rift. It didn't work like that. "This wasn't supposed to happen." He couldn't stop the words, quiet enough so that no one else heard, as Glow Bug tried to hold onto his arms. He couldn't do a lot of things apparently. "You were supposed to be farther from the Rift when you popped, far enough away that it didn't affect you. This… this wasn't supposed to _happen_."

Glow B—Danny tried to smile back at him, but any calming effect was taken by the red and green mess coating her teeth. "I know," she rasped. "I'm not going to forgive you for trying to destroy my world though."

"Out of infinite realities, that might be the one thing that could never happen," he answered. Away from them, the Zodiac had been put back together. Bill could feel it working; his body felt heavy, leaden, the pull of his incorporeal self back towards the Rift.

He wouldn't stop it this time. Not if it stopped Danny from looking at him with those hazy, bloodshot eyes.

"Nruter yam I that rewop tneicna eht ekovni I," he whispered as his body started to catch fire. Danny flinched, panic clear in her eyes, but she was too weak to do anything. "Nrub ot emoc sah emit ym. L-T-O-L-O-X-A."

The Zodiac flashed with a bright white light and Weirdmagdeon disappeared.

 **D/_\P**

Sixer found her in her human form, lying in front of all that remained of Bill. He was just a statue now, hunched slightly over her. Danny didn't move. Not because she didn't want to, though that was part of it, but because she couldn't. Miraculous ghost healing powers or not, her lungs had almost been turned to putty just hours before. It's not like they could just go back to normal with one transformation. It was only because of her ghost half that her human one wasn't dead.

Instead, she just laid on the grass. It was an awe inspiring experience; with nothing but her own brain and Bill for three years, things had faded, like the smell of dirt and the precise shade of the sky.

For a while, she stared at Bill's stone body. Betrayal and sadness panged in her heart. How could he do such a thing!? To destroy something he _knew_ she loved! And what was worse was that she should have saw it coming. How many times had he mentioned hurting Pine Tree or Sixer or random others that she had just brushed off due to how desperate she was for sentient interaction!?

And above all else, why did she still miss him!?

He had been kind to her. He had been obnoxious and pried too much and had the annoying habit of trying to end the world, but he had been there for her during her personal hell. So she still wanted him back.

But he was going to have to do that himself, because if that damn demon thinks for one second she'd let him off the hook for what he'd done, it would take him a millennia to regrow that eyeball!

That's when Sixer appeared. At least she thought it was him; he wasn't wearing a Fez and was too old to be Tree or Star. And when he adjusted his grip around his gun—pointed at her, she realized belatedly—he had six fingers. "Who are you?" he barked, expression hard and unforgiving. "What are you to Cipher?"

What was she to Bill? They'd been more than friends, she believed. But nothing else properly defined what they had been, so finally she said in her raspy voice, "I thought he was my friend. I was wrong."

That seemed to have been the right thing to say because Sixer lowered his gun, though it was still out. "Tell me everything," he demanded.

So she did.

 _ **Fin**_


End file.
